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Beginning November 16, 2016, battery charger system manufacturers will be required to use the amended federal test method [10 C.F.R. Section 430.23(aa) - Appendix Y to Subpart B of part 430] which took effect on June 20, 2016, by the U.S. Department of Energy. Provided for your convenience is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and guidance related to the amended battery charger system test procedure and how it interacts with California standards.

If clarification is needed on any of the information contained in the FAQ document, please contact the Appliance Efficiency Program via email at: appliances@energy.ca.gov with the following title in the subject line: Battery Charger FAQ.

General

The effective date of the federal test procedure is June 20, 2016, and representations made on or after November 16, 2016, regarding the energy consumption of battery charger systems must be based upon results generated under this test procedure.

Under the Title 20 Appliance Efficiency Regulations, battery charger systems are separated into two categories: small battery charger systems and large battery systems. A large battery charger system is a battery charger system with a rated input power of more than 2 kW, whereas a small battery charger system is a battery charger system with a rated input power of less than or equal to 2 kW. Note, a golf cart battery charger system (regardless of the output power), a battery backup or uninterruptible power supply, an inductive charger system, and a USB charger system are all considered small battery charger systems.

A battery charger is a device that charges batteries for consumer products, including battery chargers embedded in other consumer products. (See 42 U.S.C. 6291(32).) Functionally, a battery charger is a power conversion device used to transform input voltage to a suitable voltage for charging the battery. Battery chargers are used in conjunction with other end-use consumer products, such as cell phones and digital cameras. However, the battery charger definition prescribed by Congress is not limited solely to products that are only powered from AC mains (or "mains”) - i.e., products that plug into a wall outlet. Further, battery chargers may be wholly embedded in another consumer product, wholly separate from another consumer product, or partially inside and partially outside another consumer product.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) defines a consumer product as any article of a type that consumes or is designed to consume energy and which, to any significant extent, is distributed in commerce for personal use or consumption by individuals without regard to whether such article of such type is in fact distributed in commerce for personal use or consumption by an individual. (See 42 U.S.C. 6291(1).) Manufacturers of battery chargers are advised to use this definition in conjunction with the battery charger definition to determine whether a given device is a covered product and subject to DOE’s regulations.
The Department of Energy created seven product classes for battery chargers based on various electrical characteristics shared by particular groups of products. As these electrical characteristics change, so does the utility and efficiency of the devices.

Testing

There are several changes to the federal regulations related to battery charger systems within Title 10, Parts 429 and 430 of the Code of Federal Regulations; a detailed summary is available in Table 1 in this document. The major changes are: the scope excludes backup batteries and uninterruptible power supplies from using this test method, battery selection criteria for testing, a new represented value to calculate, the conditioning of lead acid batteries prior to being tested, and a clarified sampling methodology

The new federal test procedure applies to all battery chargers that are consumer products being sold in California. The chart below illustrates which test procedure should be used for each type of battery charger system

A battery backup charger system that is a consumer or a non-consumer product shall be tested using 10 C.F.R. section 430.23(aa) (Appendix Y to Subpart B of part 430) that was in effect on January 1, 2016.

An uninterruptible power supply system that is a consumer product shall use 10 C.F.R. section 430.23(aa) (Appendix Y to Subpart B of part 430) that was published on December 12, 2016, and that became effective January 11, 2017, and is mandatory on June 12, 2017 https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2016-BT-TP-0018-0010.

An uninterruptible power supply system that is a non-consumer product shall use 10 C.F.R. section 430.23(aa) (Appendix Y to Subpart B of part 430) that was in effect on January 1, 2016.

Under the sampling methodology for battery chargers, manufacturers may determine the number of samples tested as long as the sampling requirements are satisfied. One of these requirements is presented in the sampling plan for battery chargers per Section 429.39(a)(2)(i), which references Section 429.11, that “the minimum number of units tested shall be no less than two.” Ultimately, the manufacturer must test a sample of “sufficient size” to make a statistically valid assessment and to account for variability.

Certification

Any model number certified, prior to November 16, 2016, to the Energy Commission’s Modernized Appliance Efficiency Database System (MAEDBS) based on the previous federal test method, will be moved from the Active Database to the Archive Database on that date with the exception of backup battery and uninterruptible power supply models. Model numbers that appear in the Archive Database may continue to be sold or offered for sale in California without recertification. Any disclosures to the Energy Commission, including certification to MAEDBS, for new models manufactured after June 20, 2016, and certified to MAEDBS on or after November 16, 2016, must be made using the amended federal test method [10 CFR. Section 430.23(aa) – Appendix Y to Subpart B of Part 430].

On June 13, 2018, the federal standards for consumer battery charger systems go into effect and all products sold or offered for sale in California must meet new nationwide energy conservation and disclosure requirements.

Yes. Models that were certified as compliant to the standard before November 16, 2016, can still be sold in California after the compliance date, and will be displayed in the archived section of MAEDBS.

Summary of Changes and Affected Sections Related to the Federal Battery Charger Systems

Steps for measuring equipment are replaced with references of specific sections from IEC 62301 in section 3.2.

4. Unit Under Test Setup Requirements

Clarified in section 4.3(b) that a single battery must be selected as a result of applying the battery selection criteria in Table 4.1.

Inserted a paragraph in section 4.3(b) to require selecting the single battery resulting in the highest maintenance mode power when following Table 4.1 results in two or more distinct batteries

Updated Table 4.1 to remove instances of multiple batteries for test and instructed that, where applicable the battery with the highest voltage must be selected for testing. If multiple batteries meet the criteria of highest voltage, then the battery with the highest charge capacity at that voltage must be selected for testing. Removed column ‘‘number of tests.’’

Replaced “rated” with “nameplate battery” in section 4.3(c).

5. Recording General Data on the UUT

Replaced “rated” with “nameplate battery” in section 5.1(4) and in section 5.1(5).